English Readers of Catholic Saints

Download or read book English Readers of Catholic Saints written by Judy Ann Ford and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-18 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1484, William Caxton, the first publisher of English-language books, issued The Golden Legend, a translation of the most well-known collection of saints’ lives in Europe. This study analyzes the molding of the Legenda aurea into a book that powerfully attracted the English market. Modifications included not only illustrations and changes in the arrangement of chapters, but also the addition of lives of British saints and translated excerpts from the Bible, showing an appetite for vernacular scripture and stories about England’s past. The publication history of Caxton’s Golden Legend reveals attitudes towards national identity and piety within the context of English print culture during the half century prior to the Henrician Reformation.